There is an increasing demand in the cosmetics industry to develop products that may be applied topically to the skin that improve the condition and appearance of skin. Consumers are interested in mitigating or delaying the dermatological signs of chronologically or hormonally-aged or photo-aged skin, such as fine lines, wrinkles, drying, and sagging skin, and other conditions due to a progressive degradation of the skin matrix. During the aging process, the complexion of the skin, i.e., the color and appearance of the skin, deteriorates slowly from aging and/or exposure to sunlight. Numerous cosmetic and medical treatments have been developed in an attempt to treat aging or aged skin. Such cosmetics or treatments commonly contain organic acids as their active ingredients or components. These actives are frequently associated with consumer discomfort, such as burning, itching, and redness.
C-Reactive Protein (CRP) is a member of a class of acute phase reactants which increases during inflammatory processes, and thereby acts as a marker of inflammation. Measuring and monitoring C-reactive protein values are useful in determining disease progression or the effectiveness of treatments. Homo sapiens C-reactive protein (CRP) is a pentameric protein that has also been found to play a role in heart disease and is an indicator of risk for hypertension, recurring coronary events, and cardiovascular disease (mRNA: Accession No. NM—00567; gene: Accession No. AF442818; mapped to chromosome 1 region q21 to q25; protein: Accession No. AAL48218). Human CRP is composed of five 206 amino acid subunits non-covalently bound, each having a molecular weight of 23,017 daltons (Mullenix and Mortensen, Mol. Immunol., 31(8):615-22, 1994). Human CRP is normally present in trace amounts in serum, at very low levels, e.g., 0.8-3 g/mL. However, during infection and inflammation, human CRP levels can increase by 1,000-fold in response to specific cytokines.
There remains a general need in the cosmetics industry for products that retard or counter the aging effects on the skin, and more specifically for products that produce such effects without undesirable side effects. In particular, there remains a need for topically applied cosmetic compositions that have anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and skin texture benefits using natural plant materials as active components.
The genus Humulus of the Cannabaceae family, have been employed for a variety of purposes. The hop (Humulus) is a small genus of flowering plants, native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The female flowers, commonly called hops, are commonly used as flavoring and stabilizers during the process of brewing beer. Humulene and lupulene are medically active ingredients in hops. Dried female buds having a high methylbutenol content, are mildly sedating on the central nervous system. Hops may be used in the treatment for insomnia, stress, anxiety. Isolated from hops, Xanthohumol, has been shown to have anti-cancer properties. Xanthohumol has been shown to be toxic to human breast cancer, colon and ovarian cancer cells, as well as has some activity against prostate cancer. In addition to its anti-cancer effects, hops has antibacterial characteristics which stimulate gastric juice production. There are several species (and varieties) belonging to this genus, including: H. aculeatus, H. americanus, H. cordifolius, H. japonicus (H. japonicus var. variegatus), H. lupulus (H. lupulus subsp. americanus, H. lupulus var. cordifolius, H. lupulus var. lupuloides, H. lupulus var. lupulus, H. lupulus var. neomexicanus, H. lupulus var. pubescens), H. neomexicanus, H. scandens (H. scandens var. varigatus), and H. yunnanensis. 
The Humulus scandens, Humulus japonicus, Humulus lupulus, and Humulus yunnanensis species in the genus Humulus are all herbaceous vines with hooked climbing hairs and twine clockwise up. These species generally are dioecious, i.e., sexually distinct plants; however, individual monoecious plants, i.e., hermaphroditic, have been identified. Although male and female plants are easily distinguishable during flowering, there are no other morphological differences with which to identify the sex of a plant.
Humulus japonicus, also synonymous with Humulus scandens, is commonly known as Asian Hop. Humulus japonicus is a dioecious annual originating in Eastern Asia. It generally has leaves with 5-7 lobes, long internodes, and extremely strong hooked climbing hairs. It may be used as an ornamental primarily for hedges, but its aggressive nature and particularly strong climbing hairs make it unpleasant to handle and a potentially invasive weed. Because its female inflorescence is smaller than the cone of H. lupulus and there are few glands on either its leaves or cones, there is little value for H. japonicus in the brewing industry.
Humulus lupulus is a perennial that grows again each spring from the rhizomes of an underground rootstock. In the wild, H. lupulus spreads through underground rhizomes and by seed. H. lupulus has been separated into five taxonomic varieties based primarily on leaf characteristics, including but not limited to, pubescence, leaf hairs, leaf lobes and the number of glands.
Brewers have determined that European hops are milder and more aromatic than those from North America. European-type hops are less pubescent, have fewer glands, and have heart-shaped leaves with few lobes. Native North American hops are generally heavily pubescent and have deeply lobed leaves with five or seven lobes. North American hops have been described as having high resin content and as rich with glands and “buttery” to touch.
Humulus yunnanensis is a dioecious perennial with leaves that are less lobed and cones larger than those of H. japonicus. H. yunnanensis is distinguishable by the stiffness of the climbing hairs, pubescent leaf surfaces, small leaf glands, distribution of the trichomes, and large pollen grains. H. yunnanensis has only a few glands on the bracteoles of the cone and similar to H. japonicus, has no value for brewing.
It would be desirable to have a composition, preferably topical, comprising a natural plant material to improve the aesthetic appearance of skin. It would also be desirable to have an effective treatment and preventative for the dermatological signs of aging, including inflammation. Therefore, safe, effective and new compositions to treat, prevent, reduce, inhibit, and/or improve the dermatological signs of aging, would be advantageous for the formulation of treatments and products for the skin. As described herein, novel and beneficial methods and compositions, as well as their mode of action, for the treatment of wrinkles and the like, as well as for personal care products for the skin, are provided by the present invention.